Thursday, 20 June 2013

So, today I wanted to start off with something a little different. I know here in the blogosphere, many of us know each other pretty well. We always help each other out with cover reveals and book launches which is one of the reasons I love this community so much. We stick together!

When it comes to writing, I kind of have two circles of friends. Fiction writers I met through blogging, and article writers I met writing for the Yahoo Contributor Network. One of the people I met through content writing, is Sass Ashe. Let me tell ya, this woman is a superstar. She's smart, and she has a big personality, with a sense of humour that never fails to crack me up. Recently, she's been looking to increase her readership, and she revised and re-packaged one of her books. It's not fiction, it's a marriage/slash relationship guide - and I know this is a bit out of the norm on this kind of blog - but it's THAT good I wanted to share. Plus, I re-designed the cover! :p Seriously, though, relationship troubles or not, it's an interesting read, and no doubt, will save lots of people huge amounts of cash on marriage counsellors!

Next - a question. My book sales have taken a very dramatic nosedive the last couple of months. I've been expecting the crash for a while, and almost a year after my first book was released, I feel very lucky it's taken this long for sales to dwindle. In the interests of stirring up some more interest in the Game On series again (because that will be my next project when my current project is complete) I was considering maybe publishing my A-Z character diary entries as a free ebook. Or maybe my Game On Christmas story (also free, and it's not SO Christmassy I couldn't release it in the summer. It's about a birthday party lol). Or both? I was just wondering what your thoughts are on the topic. Good idea or bad idea?

And finally.... don't forget my signed Game On giveaway! I forgot to say, you can tweet every day for extra entries!

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Book #2 in the DRAGONFLY
series, coming July 18, 2013!"Falling in love will pull you
under..."Three friends, three dreams.One of them will end up dead. TTwo will be forever shattered.
Recovering from her broken heart, Anna decides to spend the semester break
diving into the three journals Bill Kyser gave her to read--the journals that
hold the secret and that Bill says will help her understand his need for
silence.

But the more Anna learns about the tragic events behind the powerful
developer’s seclusion, the more she’s convinced silence is a mistake.

Anna has to decide if she’ll keep the secrets or tell him the truth about a
past that’s been buried for decades. The only problem is the more she knows,
the more Anna realizes either choice could cost her the boy she's starting to
love.

About Leigh T. Moore:

Leigh Talbert Moore is the author of the
popular young adult romantic comedy The
Truth About Faking, its companion The Truth About Letting Go, and the mature
YA/new adult romantic suspense novel Rouge,
a Quarter Finalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

She is an award-winning
journalist and editor, who has also worked in marketing and public relations
for many years. Her writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the
southeast and Midwest U.S., and she
runs the popular writing-craft blog That’s Write.

A southern ex-pat
and beach bum, she currently lives with her husband, two young children, and
one grumpy cat in the Midwest.

Monday, 17 June 2013

It was around two months of preparation, and on Saturday, the big day finally rolled around! Annalisa Crawford and I set up our books and merchandise in a lovely country pub, and waited for the guests to arrive!

Not gonna lie, there weren't THAT many guests. However, the people who did come were super cool and the day flew by in a blur of signing, selling raffle tickets, chatting, and much laughter! My mum and Annalisa's sister provided heaps of help by ripping and folding raffle tickets and making sure our merchandise tables stayed tidy.

It was really, really cool to spend the day feeling like a "proper" author, and sharing the day with Annalisa made it even better. I would definitely do it again, but there are a LOT of things I'd do differently - including making a much bigger deal out of advertising the event and choosing a venue where there are more passers-by. The venue we used is SO lovely, and it's not hard to get to, but it does lie on the edge of town, so anyone passing usually does so in a car lol.

Annalisa and me, standing by our raffle prizes! Try not to judge me too harshly on how gross I look! :p

I think the most impressive part of the day was that we raised over £100 for the charity, in spite of the fact we weren't bombarded with visitors. If we hadn't made more than £50, I'd have felt like we let Richard's Wish down. I know charities are always grateful for anything, but making that extra bit felt REALLY good!

SO, I still have a bunch of books, bookmarks, postcards and fridge magnets left over from the day. I think I'll probably just keep hold of them just in case we do it again BUT, I figured I might as well do a giveaway while I have the stuff to do it! Plus, I'm really trying to get back into the blogging thing and I think this will encourage me to do so!

Monday, 10 June 2013

ARGH! I am so damn excited for this cover reveal! Not only because it's Cassie Mae's, but because the cover is so awesome! Congrats, Cassie - I'll let you take it from here!
I know some of you have already seen the awesomeness that is my cover for HOW TO DATE A NERD, but this is the official reveal, so pretend it's the first time you're seeing it, ha!

And yes, I came off really braggy, but I love this cover so much. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect one.

Okay, and if you are reading my babbles here instead of just scrolling to the cover, I know most of you have followed my journey with HOW TO DATE A NERD and know just how big a deal this is for me to get it out there to everyone. It's scheduled right now for a September release, and here's to hoping I don't lose my mind waiting :) And I want to thank all of you for the support you've shown me in the past two years since I started blogging. Nerd wouldn't have been queried, wouldn't have even been written without my bloggy buddies and their support. So THANK YOU! This is the one that started it all :)

Here's the blurby thinger and my author stuff. :)

Zoe has a great pair of legs, perky boobs, and wears exactly what she needs to show it all off. She works hard for the easy sleazy ‘you only wish you were me’ reputation, burying who she really is—an all-out nerd. The only time Zoe gets to be herself is when she hides under her comforter to read X-Men comics, sending jealousy stabs at everyone who attends Comic-Con. Keeping up her popular rep is too important, and she’s so damn insecure to care about the consequences. But when Zoe’s sister takes her car for a ‘crash and burn into a tree’ joyride, her parents get her a replacement. A manual. Something she doesn’t know how to operate, but her next door neighbor Zak sure as heck does. Zak’s a geek to the core, shunned by everyone in school for playing Dungeons and Dragons at lunch and wearing “Use the Force” t-shirts. And Zoe’s got it bad for the boy. Only Zak doesn’t want Popular Zoe. He wants Geek Zoe. She has to shove her insecurities and the fear of dropping a few rungs on the social ladder aside to prove to Zak who she really is and who she wants to be… if she can figure it out herself.

Cassie Mae is a nerd to the core from Utah, who likes to write about other nerds who find love. She’s the author of the Amazon Bestseller REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND, and is the debut author for the Random House FLIRT line with her New Adult novels FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI and PULLING THE SWITCH. She also has a three book deal with Swoon Romance Publishing, including her book HOW TO DATE A NERD. She spends her time with her angel children and perfect husband who fan her and feed her grapes while she clacks away on the keyboard. Then she wakes up from that dream world and manages to get a few words on the computer while the house explodes around her. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.

Tuesday, 4 June 2013

Annalisa Crawford is one of those rare people you stumble across accidentally, only to become really, REALLY good friends with them. Not only is she the author of two spectacular works of published fiction, she's also enormous amounts of fun, and a pleasure to know! Before I hand you over to Annalisa, I just want to say, "That Sadie Thing" is genuinely one of the best short story collections I've ever read. You're missing out if you haven't read it yet!
**

The original draft.

Thank you, Kyra, for having me back on your blog again. I love it here, it's so cozy.Today, I'm going to talk about food, because every time I meet up with Kyra we eat gorgeous food!I wroteabout Omelette on my own blog a couple of years ago, but only sixteen people saw the post, and no one commented... Yes, my blog has come a very long way since those early days (note to anyone with a new blog: you will get more visitors, you just have to be patient!)Two thoughts appeared in my head at the same time to create this story

I like eating omelette

I wonder if I could write a story with dialogue alone

Then I thought... "Ooh, maybe I could write about omelette"... so I did.Once I had the setting of a cafe (where omelettes are sold - can you see my genius?!) the characters came to life. I didn't have a clue why a woman would turn up day after day until she told me she was visiting a friend in the hospital nearby. The rest of the story flowed from there.I couldn't hold onto my 'no description' rule for long though - I realised I needed some. But I tried as hard as I could to let the story seep out via the conversation between the customer and the waitress. As the reader, you have to fill in some of the gaps because there's only so much you tell a stranger, isn't there?

In my original post on my blog, I gave the recipe of my perfect omelette meal, so here it is again, you know... in case you're hungry:

3 egg omelette, made with just eggs (no milk!), and a teaspoon of basil.On top of this, add slices of tomato and spinach leavesOn top of that, add half a tin of baked beans, with added sweetcorn, mushrooms and spring onionOn top of that, add grated carrot and cheese.

I like putting myself into my stories - either a snippet of conversation, a thought, a situation - and in this story, close to the end the waitress talks about looking up at the sky, seeing all the stars and feeling very small. That comes directly from my childhood. When I was little my bed was under a flat roof window, so I fell asleep staring at the stars, and the more I looked, the more I saw. Looking at the stars is pretty mind-blowing when you're four!

About AnnalisaI live in Cornwall, with a good supply of beaches and moorland right on my doorstep. I live with my husband, two boys, a dog and a cat. Despite my location. I neither surf nor sail, and have never had any inclination to try. I much prefer walking along the beach and listening to the waves crashing over rocks. For this reason, I really love the beach in the winter!Buy That Sadie Thing here (this link should take you direct to your local Amazon)Follow Annalisa here, or Like her hereRead her blog here

Monday, 3 June 2013

I think I made an epic mistake with my blog break. Now, I am finding it impossible to get back into it! I'm cool scheduling posts and doing cover reveals, but when it comes to myself, I feel like I've run out of conversation!

The truth is, not that I've run out of words, I'm just so freaking busy. Fitting everything into the day is getting harder and harder, but I'm hoping once the book signing is done, I will have some more time to spend with you lovely people!

Until then, I hope you can bear with me until I get myself sorted out! <3 br="">3>